Airlines, travel agents and tour operators are preparing for the busiest day of the year for holiday booking. Dubbed Sunshine Saturday, the first Saturday in January is when travel companies see the highest rise in bookings from UK tourists.

Falling on Saturday 5th January, travel giants Thomas Cook and Tui are expecting approximately one million people to enquire either instore or online with more than double the holiday bookings compared to any other weekend.

In previous years the Canary Islands have been popular holiday destinations, however it is not known if Brexit will have an affect on the booking habits of UK tourists. Cruise and ski holidays are also in high demand on Sunshine Saturday.

Ahead of the frenzy, companies are slashing prices in order to appeal to those fighting the post-Christmas blues.

Tui is offering customers a range of online and instore deals for holiday’s both in Europe and Worldwide. Grabbing our attention is the Tui Sensimar Medina Gardens in Marrakech, voted one of the best three destinations in the world by TripAdvisor, which is available from £236pp.

First Choice is offering a ‘Flash Sale’, ending on the 7th January, where you can save an impressive £150.00 on holidays to the Canaries, Balearics and Spain.

Airlines including BA, Easyjet, Ryanair and Virgin Atlantic are also offering big deals this weekend so if you are looking to bag cheaper flights this may be something to look out for.

For those who can’t decide on a destination, we have looked into the top ten cheapest non-EU countries, and here is what we found:

  1. Sri Lanka
  2. Pakistan
  3. India
  4. Mexico
  5. Thailand
  6. Brazil
  7. Egypt
  8. Tunisia
  9. Nigeria
  10. South Africa

Once you have booked your holiday, make sure you take out a travel insurance policy – be sure to check the travel insurers social media channels as many are offering discounts this weekend.

*Disclaimer, Travel Insurance Explained is in no way affiliated with any brands mentioned in this article